Wednesday Night Piemaking

Bob, a good friend of ours who had moved with his wife Nancy to South Carolina a couple of years ago, came to visit us recently. For two nights we had good food and good conversation sitting out on the back patio, enjoying the warm weather. In the course of our sharing on one of those nights we began talking about holidays and holiday traditions. You see, the reason Bob was in our neighborhood was his son, Mike, had moved from South Carolina back to Southern California and Bob had helped with the move. We were getting caught up with all the family doings and Bob happened to mention that, though they would miss Mike and Mike's family (especially the grand-babies), a family tradition would carry on. Now you have to know Bob and his rough and tough exterior to get the fullness of his comment about family traditions. Bob's nickname is "Big Dog." I hope you get the picture. Of course we asked what that particular tradition was. "Baking pies on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving," came the answer. But is was not Nancy baking the pies. It was Bob. Big Dog Bob. And he made several pies, not just one or two. And now Mike, his son, was carrying on the tradition of making pies on the eve of Thanksgiving.

The conversation reminded me of how important family traditions can be. Why? I suppose there are different answers to the question, but I'm quite sure they all center on the feeling of connectedness we feel when we continue a family tradition. And traditions can come out of nowhere. Two Christmases ago we watched the film "Love Actually," and it stuck as a sort of family tradition. Baseball season has begun and my wife and I watch the film "Major League" to get into the spirit, a sort of family tradition I think.

We Christians have another family tradition. We call it various names, The Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, Eucharist. Whenever I take part in the Lord's Supper with others I am reminded of how connected we are through the simple act of sharing bread, sharing wine. Of how that connection transcends time and space. Of how that connection brings the gift of wholeness, healing and joy. And that connection is there even in the worst of times. And I believe that all of our family traditions somehow are connected to this one. And that's a good thing.

In the spirit of pie-making I'm sharing a favorite recipe of mine, a free form fruit pie that we had with Bob during his visit. You can go to www.cooksillustrated.com to get the basic recipe. They call it a "Free Form Summer Fruit Tart." One of the secret ingredients I use in making my pie crust, and not mentioned in the recipe, is to add 1 Tbs vodka to the dough in place of some of the water. Trust me, it makes for a really flaky crust. Enjoy!